St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-15
A MARRIED PRIEST.
Father John WOlonski, the Only
Welded Priest in America.


Shenandoah, Pa, possesses the only
church Of the Uniati Greek faith in the
United States. The pastor is Rev. John
WolOnski, and he is married. Father
WOlOnski went there two and One-half
years ago from Lemberg, Austria, and
In that time he has acquired good
knowledge of English and has built a
church costing about $4,000. His con-
gregatiOn numbers about 1900 souls,
Austrians, Poles and Hungarians. The
relation Of Rome to this religious denOm-
inatiOn, of which so little is known in
America, is somewhat peculiar. The
Uniati Greek church cOmprehends
those Christians who, while they follow
the Greek rite, observe the general dis
cipline of the Greek church and make
use OF the Greek liturgy, are yet united
with the church of Rome, admitting the
double procession of the spirit and the
supremacy of the Roman pontiff, and
subsequent to the Greek Schism, which
have force as articles of faith in the
Roman church. The Uniati Greeks are
found chiefly in Southern Italy, in the
Austrian dominion, in Poland and in
the Russian empire. They number
about 10000, 900 souls, as nearly as can
be estimated. The church is repre-
sented at Rome by a metropolitan or
archbishop, who receives instructions
from the pope, and who is virtually the
religious ruler of the 10000, 900 who pro-
fess this faith. The law of celibacy is,
with the consent of the Roman pOtiff,
suspended in their case, and the
PRIESTS ARE ALLOWED TO MARRY.
They are also permitted to administer
communion under both kinds. The
mass and all other religious services are
read in the SlavOnic language, and sew
eral other customs of the orthodox
Greek church are retained, though the
members of the faith acknowledge no
religious allegiance to the cars church.
Father WolOnSki came to this country
in December, 1884, at the request of a
number of people of his faith who had
lmmigrated to this country and settled
in the anthracite coal region. He was
sent by Archbishop SembratOwicZ, of
Lembefg, with instructions authorizing
and empowering him as priest to work
for the spiritual welfare of the people of
his church, and enjoining him to ac-
knowledge no allegiance to local church
authority. When he arrived in Phila-
delphia he called at the cathedral, then
in charge of Vicar General Walsh, with
whom he had an interview. This inter-
view, however, was abruptly broken off
by Father Walsh when he learned, that
his priestly visitor was a married man
ane had his wife with him. Father
WOl0nski did not quite understand why
his interview was cut SO short, and,
believing that some mistake was made,
he sought out the Austrian consul to
Philadelphia, from whom he obtained a
letter of introduction. But when he
returned to the cathedral he was refused
admission. He then came to Shenandoah
and received much the same sort of re-
ceptiOn at the hands of the priests here.
This did not discourage him, however,
and two weeks after his arrival he had
leased hall, which he fitted up as place
Of worship, and had quite large con-
gfegatOn abOnt him. Since then he has
built church which will cost when
completed about $4,000. He also has
church project in. hand at Jersey City,
where number of his people are, and
one also at Freeland, Luzerne county.
Father WolOnski is about thirty years
old. is tall and straight, well educated
and an extremely hard worker. He is
now, and has been during the past year,
publishing a small Greek paper, of
which he. is editor, composition, proof
Reader and general manager. This
paper Is devoted chiefly to acquainting
his people with the laws and usageS Of
the country, and his ambition is to make
them good citizens as we'll as good
Christians. His wife is about two years
his senior. They have been married
about six years. The rules of the church
requires priest who desires to marry
to do so before ordination, and forbid
his marrying second time.